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NILES -- Several Niles McKinley High School students will have their artwork entered into the Northeastern Ohio Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition Jan. 7 to 29 at Youngstown State University.
The awards ceremony is set for noon Jan. 14 for high school students and 1:30 p.m. for middle school students in Bliss Hall, where the artwork will be featured on the second-floor gallery and the fourth-floor hallway.
The Scholastic Art Awards program is the largest annual student art competition in the United States. Founded in 1927 by Scholastic Inc., the awards program is dedicated to recognizing the achievements of young artists. The program has recognized more than 13 million creative teenagers, including Andy Warhol and Robert Redford, in its 90-year history.
High school art teacher Laurie DeLucia said she is excited to have 10 students exhibiting 18 entries, including those with portfolios.
"It's really nice. I feel very fortunate that we have students who participate in this,'' she said.
DeLucia said local artists visited the high school to judge her students' artwork beforehand and select what they thought was best for the competition.
"I already knew which ones I would select, but I like to have other people come in and look at the artwork. They chose the ones they felt were the strongest for the event,'' DeLucia said.
The 18 pieces selected featured different mediums, such as pastels, paintings and photography.
Mya Burns, 17, a senior, said she will enter a photography portfolio and plans to use her art skills after high school with a career in digital art.
"This show is a great opportunity to show what everyone has done at school,'' Burns said.
DeLucia said she always enjoys hearing when students pursue a career in the arts.
"We have three students who did portfolios,'' she said.
The regional entries will reflect the participating schools' outstanding student work. A panel of judges then selects works to receive Honorable Mention, Silver and Gold keys and five nominations for the prestigious American Visions Awards.
The American Visions Award and Gold Key finalists will be sent to New York City to compete for awards and scholarships with other student entries from across the nation.
DeLucia said the students selected will know by mid-January.
The local competition includes students from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties.
"There are a variety of students. Some of the five judges at the event are professors at YSU," DeLucia said.
Students taking part are seniors Amanda Blank, Mya Burn, Rea Gaugler and Maggie Mitrega, juniors Myah Busse, Ya Xuan Liu and Madison McGuire, and sophomores Elena Gioiello, Kaitlyn Huff and Kenneth Vigorito.
Niles Middle School art teacher Jon Elliott said 13 students in sixth to eighth grades also will have 18 works of art in the competition next month.
DeLucia said most of the students who had pieces selected are in her Art III and Art IV classes.
Gaugler, 18, said she's previously been featured in the showcase and knows what to expect. She said the pieces selected were the ones she was the most proud of and hoped would be on display.
One of Gaugler's chosen pieces was a painting of a dancer.
Blank said she also was selected for last year's exhibition.
"I really like to see the variety of artwork done,'' she said.
"It's a very impressive and competitive show. Anytime a student wins an award, it is a real honor. To have our pieces selected for the show is an honor and then to win a gold or sliver key or even and honorable mention. This is one of the area's biggest shows," DeLucia said.